Apparatus and methods for facilitating set up of portable sport goals

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a sports goal having a net with indicia to facilitate aligning the net with the frame of the sports goal.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to portable sport goals and, more particularly, to apparatuses and methods to facilitate the set up of portable sport goals useful for soccer (a.k.a. football) goals, lacrosse goals, hockey goals, field hockey goals, and the like by using indicators to facilitate aligning a net with the goal frame.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Sports using goals, such as hockey, soccer (a.k.a. football), lacrosse, and many others are becoming more popular. With the increase in popularity, a need is developing for portable goals to allow individual to the flexibility to play these sports in, for example, backyards and fields.

[0003]FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a portable goal 10 useful for hockey. The goal comprises a frame 12 and a mesh 14. The frame 12 generally comprises a plurality of tubular members 18, such as plastic, steel, or aluminum tubing connected by a plurality of joints 20. While shown as oval or circular tubing, other shapes are possible. Also, tubular members 18 could be solid pieces that fit into joints 20. The mesh 14 generally comprises webbing made out of cloth, nylon or the like. While shown as a relatively fine mesh in FIG. 1, many conventional goals 10 have larger holes or spaces in the mesh than those shown in FIG. 1. As one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize, however, the frame and mesh can be made out of multiple materials.

[0004] To attach mesh 14 to frame 12, a sleeve 16 is attached to the mesh 14. The sleeves can be stitched or otherwise attached to mesh 14 and generally has a diameter sufficient to encircle the corresponding portion of tubular member 18 and allow the parts to slide within the sleeve. Instead of sleeves, mesh 14 could be attached to tubular members 18 using a tie. Alternatively, mesh 14 could have a larger grain such that tubular members 18 could be woven through holes in the mesh.

[0005] Anyone who has attempted to disassemble and reassemble conventional portable goals has found that obtaining the proper orientation of the net with the goal frame is difficult and time consuming. Thus, it would be desirous to provide apparatuses and methods to facilitate the set of portable goals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] To attain the advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention provides a portable sport goal having a net. The net has indicia to facilitate aligning the net with the goal frame.

[0007] The foregoing and other features, utilities and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Further, the advantages and purpose of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles thereof. Like items in the drawings are referred to using the same numerical reference.

[0009]FIG. 1 shows a prior art modular sport goal; and

[0010]FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of a crossbar of a portable goal illustrative of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] Some embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to FIG. 2. While the present invention is described in relation to a conventional portable goal, such as a lacrosse goal, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the present invention could be used in any type of sports goal, such as a hockey goal, a soccer goal, or the like.

[0012]FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a top crossbar 22 that may be associated with a portable goal, such as a lacrosse goal. Crossbar 22 can be considered representative of the entire frame of the portable goal, which may include other tubular frame members for lateral and vertical support. Joints 24 are shown attached to each end of crossbar 22, but the remaining portion of the goal is not shown for simplicity. As shown, a net 26 is attached to crossbar 22, joints 24, and the remaining frame of the portable goal (not specifically shown) using a plurality of ties 28. Of course, instead of ties 28, net 26 could be attached to crossbar 22 using sleeves or by weaving crossbar 22 through holes 30 of net 26.

[0013] To facilitate the placement of net 26, a frame outline boarder 32 and corner indicators 34 are provided on net 26. Frame outline boarder 32 should be used on a sufficient portion of the net 26 to facilitate orienting the net with the frame of the goal. While it is envisioned that the frame outline boarder 32 would be used to outline all or a substantial portion of the goal frame, it is possible only a minor amount of the net would require the frame outline boarder. In other words, frame outline boarder 32 may be placed on only 1 or 2 portions. For example, outline boarder 32 may be placed only on an upper left corner of a goal with an arrow(s) indicator showing which direction the seams should run. Outline boarder 32 may have the upper left corner indicator and the arrow may point towards the right upper corner thus allowing the user setting up the net to know to line the seam with the arrow along the crossbar. Many other configurations are, of course, possible.

[0014] Corner indicators 34 would also assist in orienting the net and the frame of the goal by assisting in aligning the net corners with the frame corners. Corner indicators 34 are additional visual aids to facilitate orienting the net 26. Corner indicators 34 are shown as flags at the upper right and left corners of the goal, but could be many style indicators located in various spots around the goal frame. For example, the indicators could be a second color of a color coded seam, could be one or more ribbons, could be a different texture mesh, or the like. While it is current considered preferable to use frame outline boarder 32 together with corner indicators 34, frame outline boarder 32 and corner indicators 34 could be used each separate of the other. For example, upper left and right corner indicators 34 could be used to align the mesh netting with crossbar 22 (as shown in FIG. 2). Once a portion of the net is aligned with the frame, the remaining alignment is facilitated as well.

[0015] As shown, frame outline boarder 32 could be a thicker piece of cord, cloth, or webbing, but other indicia are also possible. For example, frame outline boarder 32 could use the same size webbing, but have a different color, a different pattern, a different texture, or the like to indicate the frame outline. Further, corner indicators 34 are shown as separate devices, like the flags or flaps, but could be incorporated into the frame outline boarder 32 as well. For example, frame outline boarder 32 may be multi color using a black color to indicate a general frame alignment and a yellow color to indicate a corner.

[0016] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to some embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various other changes in the form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 

We claim:
 1. A modular sports goal, comprising: a tubular frame forming a sports goal; a mesh netting removably coupled to the tubular frame; and the mesh netting comprising a frame outline boarder, wherein the frame outline boarder facilitates orienting the mesh netting with the tubular frame such that the mesh netting can be removably coupled to the tubular frame.
 2. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline boarder outlines at least a portion of the entire frame.
 3. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline boarder outlines the entire frame.
 4. The modular sports goal of claim 2, wherein the frame outline boarder outlines at least one corner portion of the frame.
 5. The modular sports goal of claim 1, further comprising: at least one corner indicator.
 6. The modular sports goal of claim 5, wherein the at least one corner indicator is a plurality of corner indicators.
 7. The modular sports goal of claim 5, wherein the at least one corner indicator is at least one of a flag, a ribbon, a surface texture, a color on the frame outline boarder, and a pattern on the frame outline boarder.
 8. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the frame outline boarder is at least one of a color, a texture, a pattern, a symbol, and a material.
 9. The modular sports goal of claim 1, wherein the mesh netting is releasably coupled to the tubular frame by at least one of a tie, a sleeve, and weaving the tubular frame through holes in the mesh netting.
 10. A method of attaching a meshing netting having an alignment indicator to a frame to form a goal, the method comprising the steps of: arranging a tubular frame to form a sport goal; orienting the mesh netting such that the alignment indicator indicates proper alignment with the tubular frame; and releasably attaching the meshing netting to the tubular frame.
 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the orienting the mesh netting step further includes aligning at least one corner indicator on the mesh netting with a matching corner on the frame.
 12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably attaching step includes wrapping a tie around the frame and mesh netting to secure the mesh netting to the tubular frame.
 13. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably attaching step includes the step of sliding a sleeve over the tubular frame.
 14. The method according to claim 10, wherein the releasably attaching step includes the step of weaving the tubular frame through holes in the mesh netting.
 15. A sports goal, comprising: a plurality of tubular members; a mesh netting; means for releasably coupling the mesh netting to the plurality of tubular members; and means indicating an alignment of the mesh netting to facilitate releasably coupling the mesh netting to the plurality of tubular members.
 16. The sport goal according to claim 15, wherein the means for indicating alignment comprises a frame outline boarder on a portion of the mesh netting.
 17. The sport goal according to claim 15, wherein the means for indicating alignment comprises a plurality of corner indicators.
 18. The sports goal according to claim 16, wherein the means for indicating alignment further comprises at least one corner indicator.
 19. The sport goal according to claim 17, wherein the means for indicating alignment further comprises a frame outline boarder on at least a portion of the mesh netting.
 20. The sport goal according to claim 16, wherein the frame outline boarder comprises at least one of a color, a texture, a pattern, and a symbol. 